Ogden Hoffman Jr. (October 16, 1822 - August 9, 1891) was a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district, which each cover o ...

of the

United States District Court for the District of California The following are former United States district courts, which ceased to exist because they were subdivided into smaller units. With the exception of California, each of these courts initially covered an entire U.S. state, and was subdivided as the ...

, the

United States District Court for the Northern District of California The United States District Court for the Northern District of California (in case citations, N.D. Cal.) is the federal United States district court whose jurisdiction comprises the following counties of California: Alameda, Contra Costa, Del ...

and the

United States District Court for the Southern District of California The United States District Court for the Southern District of California (in case citations, S.D. Cal.) is a federal court in the Ninth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appe ...

Early life

Hoffman was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

on October 16, 1822. He received an

Artium Baccalaureus Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree in 1840 from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

and a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

in 1842. He entered private practice in New York City in 1842, and from 1844 to 1850. From 1842 to 1844, he studied in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, where he acquired a working knowledge of

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

and several other languages. He continued private practice in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

from 1850 to 1851.

Federal judicial service

Hoffman was nominated by President

Millard Fillmore Millard Fillmore (January 7, 1800March 8, 1874) was the 13th president of the United States, serving from 1850 to 1853; he was the last to be a member of the Whig Party while in the White House. A former member of the U.S. House of Represen ...

on February 1, 1851, to a new seat on the

authorized by 9 Stat. 521. He was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

on February 27, 1851, and received his commission the same day. He was assigned by

operation of law The phrase "by operation of law" is a legal term that indicates that a right or liability has been created for a party, irrespective of the intent of that party, because it is dictated by existing legal principles. For example, if a person dies wi ...

to additional and concurrent service to a new seat on the

on August 31, 1852 authorized by 10 Stat. 76. His service in the Southern District terminated on January 18, 1854. On July 27, 1866, Hoffman was reassigned by

to the

, confirmed by the U.S. Senate for a new seat authorized by 14 Stat. 300. Hoffman was reassigned by

to the

on August 5, 1886, to a new seat authorized by 24 Stat. 308. Hoffman's judicial service terminated on August 9, 1891, due to his death in San Francisco. He was succeeded by Judge

William W. Morrow William W. Morrow (July 15, 1843 – July 24, 1929) was a United States representative from California, a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California and a United States Circuit Judge ...

. At the time of his death, he was the last federal judge in active service to have been appointed by President Fillmore, and the longest-serving on the bench.

Death and burial

Hoffman died in San Francisco on August 9, 1891. He was interred at

Mount Tamalpais Cemetery Mount Tamalpais Cemetery is located in San Rafael, California. History The cemetery was founded by Dr. Henry A. Dubois, Jr. An ordinance was passed that prohibited any burials within the towns limits. Dr DuBois attended a town hall meeting whe ...

in San Rafael, California.

Family

Hoffman was son of

Ogden Hoffman Ogden Hoffman (October 13, 1794 – May 1, 1856) was an American lawyer and politician who served two terms in the United States House of Representatives. Life Ogden Hoffman was born on October 13, 1794, the son of New York Attorney General Jos ...

(1794–1856) and Emily (Burrall) Hoffman. He was the grandson of

Josiah Ogden Hoffman Josiah Ogden Hoffman (April 14, 1766 – January 24, 1837) was an American lawyer and politician. Early life Josiah Ogden Hoffman was born on April 14, 1766, in Newark, New Jersey, the son of Nicholas Hoffman (1736–1800) and Sarah Ogden Hoffma ...

(1766–1837), the

New York Attorney General The attorney general of New York is the chief legal officer of the U.S. state of New York and head of the Department of Law of the state government. The office has been in existence in some form since 1626, under the Dutch colonial government of ...

from 1795 to 1802. Hoffman never married, and had no children.

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hoffman, Ogden Jr. 1822 births 1891 deaths Columbia College (New York) alumni Judges of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California Judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California Judges of the United States District Court for the District of California United States federal judges appointed by Millard Fillmore 19th-century American judges Ogden Jr. Harvard Law School alumni 19th-century American politicians